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Thirty-two years have passed since Egypt and Syria armies caught Israel by surprise on Yom-Kippur, the Day of Atonement and the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. At around two o'clock in the afternoon, while Israelis were at prayer in synagogues across the country, massive Arab forces attacked across the Suez Canal and on the Golan Heights. Outnumbered by ten to one and more, the Egyptian and Syrian troops and tanks overran the sparse Israeli defenders and appeared to threaten the very existence of the Jewish state. Before the IDF recovered and drove back the invading armies, 2,586 Israeli soldiers were killed and thousands more wounded. It was a monumental intelligence failure and the trauma in Israel continues to this very day. What went wrong? Dr Uri Bar-Yosef, a strategic analyst at Haifa University and an IDF Colonel (res.) has conducted an exhaustive study in his book entitled 'The Watchman Fell Asleep' which has recently appeared in English.

In one of his most forceful speeches, U.S. President George W. Bush has condemned Syria and Iran for supporting Islamist terrorism in general and Iraq in particular. Speaking in the White House, Bush declared that Iraq had become the battleground for the confrontation and he was determined to stay the course despite mounting criticism at home and abroad. What are the implications of the Bush address for Israel, the target of Palestinian terrorism that is also backed by Syria and Iran? Zalman Shoval, a foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and a former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., discussed various aspects with David Essing.

After launching forty Qassam rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel's western Negev, Israel renewed its counter-terror operations. By week's end, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and even the Islamic jihad were calling for a return to the former cease-fire. However, Israeli officials say 'new rules' now apply; after Israel's total withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, there will be no return to the 'low intensity' warfare. What are the implications on the ground and for the Roadmap peace process? What is the approach of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon after implementing the unilateral withdrawal and nearly being trounced by former Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at the Likud party convention? Dr. Raanan Gissin, Sharon's media advisor discusses the issues in this interview with David Essing.

Israeli deputy defense minister Zeev Boim told Israel Radio that Syrian President Bashar Assad had encouraged the Palestinian terrorist groups to step up attacks on Israel. On this issue, here is an interview with Professor Eyal Zisser of Tel-Aviv University, a leading Israeli expert on Syria, broad-casted on IBA News:

Rafik Hariri, former Lebanese Prime Minister, was assassinated in Beirut on February 14th, 2005 by a car bomb that killed also ten other people. He was a member of opposition parties that demanded Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon. While most of the clues to the bombing point to Damascus, Syrian President Assad has not yet claimed responsibility for Hariri's murder.

The Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip has been completed without hitch. Last month, the settlements were evacuated and now the Israel Defense Forces have pulled out. The Palestinians are now in control. What are the prospects? How did Israel take control of the Gaza Strip thirty-eight years ago? The fact is that Defense Minister Moshe Dayan and IDF Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin planned on bypassing the Strip that was populated by Palestinian refugees, in order to smash the Egyptian tank formations that were threatening Israel from Sinai. It was only after two divisions of Egyptian and Palestinian forces stationed in Gaza started shelling villages in Israel that the IDF was ordered to enter Gaza.

The inexorable eviction of the Gaza settlers continues amid heart-rending scenes of IDF soldiers dragging children, women and men from their homes. Most are religious Jews who believe they have also fulfilled an important national mission at the their country's calling and have now been evicted by a Prime Minister who for some reason has changed his mind. Some of these residents and their children have been killed in Palestinian attacks and all have come under the repeated shelling of more than 5,000 Qassam rockets and mortars launched since the outbreak of Palestinian violence in September, 2000.Why has Ariel Sharon changed course so dramatically? What can be expected from Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas who declares he will not confiscate the terrorists' weapons and Hamas that vows to use those arms to attack Israel when the time is ripe? Then there's the U.S. and the rest of the Quartet eager to plunge into the Roadmap process.

Uzi Rubin, a leading Israeli missile expert, warns that Iran and the Arab states now have an arsenal of about 1,000 ballistic missiles that can target Israel. Rubin, a founder of Israel's counter missile project known as 'Homah', was addressing an open session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Affairs & Defense Committee which discussed the missile threats now facing Israel. Yair Ramati the Arrow Project Director at Israel Aircraft Industries told the committee that the Arrow is capable of coping with a ballistic missile attack on Israel. But why has Israel yet to find an answer to the primitive Qassam rockets that Palestinians in Gaza Strip launch daily at Israeli settlements and communities inside Israel?

Is it now official? A senior official of the Palestinian Authority declares the PA will not disarm the Palestinian terror organizations. This is the first clause in the Roadmap peace plan that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon demands must be implemented. The Palestinian shelling in the Gaza Strip again violated the cease-fire killing 3 people and wounding several others this week. The terrorists also launched more Qassam rockets across the border at the Israeli town of Sderot. Miraculously, no one was seriously hurt when one of the rockets smashed through the roof into the living room of an apartment. Israel did not retaliate except for pin point rocketing of terrorists planning more attacks. However, Israel has officially informed Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that no attacks will be tolerated when Israel starts evacuating the Gaza Strip and 4 West Bank settlements starting in August. And the Shabak's super 'spook' Avi Dichter went public after retiring; he rejected the notion that the disengagement will trigger a new Palestinian war of terrorism.

The victory of Saad Hariri's anti-Syria party in the Beirut election could usher in a new era in Lebanon. Hariri's list swept all 19 seats in the Lebanese capital while the rest of the country votes for the remainder of the 128 seats over the next three Sundays. Saad is the son of former Premier Rafik Hariri who was assassinated in February apparently by Syrian agents. Rafik Hariri opposed Syria's occupation of Lebanon and his murder sparked international pressure which forced Syria to end its 30 year domination of Lebanon. However, Israeli officials believe that Hezbollah, Iran's proxy forces in Lebanon, will not surrender its power easily. Meanwhile, the frontrunner in the Iranian election campaign turns out to be Ayatollah Rafsanjani who has spoken about destroying Israel with one nuclear bomb.

Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon has briefed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for the last time as IDF Chief of Staff. Yaalon focused on the rising power of Hamas vis-vis Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 'cracks' developing in Lebanon between Hezbollah and its Iranian and Syrian sponsors. The Chief of Staff was praised by both sides of the House for containing the Palestinian wave of terrorism launched by Yasser Arafat in September 2000.

Along the Lebanese frontier, Hezbollah launched a series of cross border shelling of Israeli civilian and military targets. There were no Israeli casualties but some damage. The IDF responded with limited air strikes and tank fire. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says Israel has no intention of being drawn into a further escalation by the pro-Iranian Hezbollah.

It’s been a dramatic week in Prime Minister Sharon’s drive to carry out his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and 4 West Bank settlements this summer. Sharon fought off fierce opposition to the historic move not only from the far right opposition but also from within his ruling Likud party. In the Palestinian Authority, terrorists have shot up the Ramallah headquarters of President Mahmoud Abbas; in reaction a senior Palestinian security of official has resigned. In the first of two installments, David Essing assesses the outcome on the ground and possible future developments in light of a looming split within the Likud:

Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi-Farkash, the head of IDF military intelligence says Hamas is adopting the ‘Irish model’ of entering politics while maintaining its terror wing; (Sinn-Fein is the political party while the IRA carries out attacks). The intelligence commander warned that Hamas and other terror groups were preparing major terror attacks including the launching Qassam rockets from the West Bank. The Syrian redeployment of troops in Lebanon was to lessen international pressure; Damascus has no intention of giving up its control over the Lebanese state.

Palestinian terror attacks have dropped, but the Jewish terror threats have soared over the controversial disengagement issue. That was the message from the country's top security officials Shabak security chief Avi Dichter, IDF Chief of Staff designate Dan Halutz, and police commissioner Moshe Karadie in a briefing to cabinet ministers. In the bigger picture, analyst David Essing is of the view that the disengagement question may now have been internationalized as part of US president George W. Bush's new multilateral approach to coping with Middle East flashpoints.

The resolution was passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 473 in favor and 8 against, with 33 abstentions. The wording of the resolution says, 'The European Parliament considers that clear evidence exists of terrorist activities by Hezbollah. The (EU) Council should take all necessary steps to curtail them.'

King Abdullah wants to raise the level of relations between Israel and the Arab world, first with Jordan itself, and he’s willing to explore all possible avenues. In a Special Interview With The Israeli Reporter For Channel 2 News, Ehud Ya’ari, Who Was Invited By The Jordanians To Amman, King Abdullah Says: &#39;We Need to Talk to Each Other. Any Problem, How Difficult It May Be, Can Be Solved With Dialogue&#39;

Professor Eyal Zisser of Tel Aviv University, is a leading Israeli expert on Syria. This is professor Zisser's latest update on the situation in Lebanon after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri:

Bashar Assad, the Syrian president, said in an interview with the Italian newspaper, La Republica:".first is that we refer to the United Nations, from which the Resolution was issued. We will respect it." ".our troops will be redeployed along the Syrian-Lebanese borders, but on the Lebanese side of the border."